Michael Brissenden presents AM Monday to Friday from 8:00am on ABC Local Radio and 7:10am on Radio National. Join Elizabeth Jackson for the Saturday edition at 8am on Local Radio and 7am on Radio National.

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Friday 19 May 2000

AM is Australia's most informative morning current affairs. It covers the stories each morning that the other current affairs teams follow for the rest of the day. Below is the program summary with links to transcripts and audio (if available).

Aboriginal remains to be returned to Australia

The British Museum of Natural History says it is prepared to return part of its large collection of specimens of Aboriginal and Islander skeletal remains, but only under strict conditions. After years of campaigning by FAIRA, the Foundation for Aboriginal and Islander Research, the museum has agreed to release a list of around 450 items in its archives, including skulls and bones.

Campaigner wants no conditions on the return of remains

Snowtown struggles to change image

A year ago this weekend a small country town in South Australia achieved national prominence when eight dismembered bodies were found in barrels in a disused bank vault. On the surface, life in Snowtown nearly 200 kilometres north of Adelaide has returned to normal. But after a year it would rather forget, the town is bitterly divided on how it should move on from being the dumping ground for one of Australia's worse serial killings.

Recovery of Aussie dollar dependent on slow US market

A leading international economist says a reprieve for the Australian dollar might take nothing short of G7 intervention. This week the first secretary of the Treasury, then the Treasurer, said that a recovery in the level of the Australian dollar was dependent on a slowdown in the US economy.

PM's comments on interest rates defended again

Former Reserve Bank chairman Bernie Fraser has defended Prime Minister John Howard's right to make comments about interest rate rises. His support follows criticism from the opposition and some analysts that Mr Howard's comments yesterday caused a further weakening of the Aussie dollar.

Ned Kelly goes back to court

Ned Kelly is to be tried once again. One hundred and twenty years after he swung from the gallows at Melbourne's jail, the case of the bushranger and convicted murderer is to go back to the Supreme Court.

Reigns tighten around Indonesian military

For the fledgling democracy in Indonesia, it's been a landmark week in efforts to rein in a military with a reputation for unchecked brutality. But just as progress was being made, the military, accountable for atrocities in East Timor and Aceh, police and soldiers in the outer provinces returned to their old habits, shooting dead more than 30 people in troubled regions of the country.

New program causes headaches for music industry

Just as it looked like the music industry had a chance against one company encouraging piracy on the Internet, it's facing a far more formidable threat. A new program called Nutella is causing nightmares among music and media companies everywhere.